Let’s Be Real: Is Daily Harvest an Influencer-Only Cult Food Delivery Option?

According to my screen-time record on my iPhone I spend 8 hours a day on Instagram (It’s my job, don’t @ me, mom). so its no shock I’ve run into so many of those Daily Harvest adds. During one of the adds, I decided to swipe up and take a look. Surprisingly, it’s pretty affordable for normal people! I got 9 cups, weekly, for an intro cost of $45 ($65 after your first order). These are marketed for breakfast or lunch, but I’m mostly using them for dinner. I got a couple breakfast options, but prefer a savory breakfast and smoothies/ oatmeal just ain’t gonna cut it. Here’s what I ordered in my first box:

The best stuff:

Coconut Lemon bites: Not a huge fan of coconut that isn’t sweetened but wow yes to this. Great when you just need a quick little something sweet

Sweet Potato + Wild Rice hash: So good. We’re in a committed relationship now

Cauliflower Rice + Pesto: I’m not a pesto person, but this is amazing.

Mulberry + Dragon Fruit: This was an oat bowl and I’ve never had either of these fruits (cause who’s confident enough to pick up one of those dragon fruit things at the store?). Still not 100% sure what Dragon fruit tastes like, but love mulberry.

Everything I ordered was surprisingly pretty tasty good. For someone who literally only makes food for one person, these are fantastic. The serving sizes are great and everything you need to make it is already in the cup, just add water. Another great thing is it’s all plant based meals, which can be hard to make without buying a million different ingredients that go bad in 7 seconds. Truthfully, I will probably do this about 2X a month so that I have a variety of meals and I’m not overstocking my tiny fridge. Trader Joe’s freezer section has some competition.

People Still Like Trader Joe’s Lists, Right?

I know people do these constantly, but its one of the few posts I’ll scroll through no matter whose it is. I’m always looking for new stuff to try, especially in the freezer section. There’s a combined Target and Trader Joe’s a few stop away from me, so basically that’s where 90% of my income is going these days. Let begin with the things I buy every time I go:

 

Cauliflower gnocchi: When will I have the dramatic glow-up that cauliflower has had? Pretty much all Trader Joe’s lists worth their salt have this on it. It’s as good as everyone says it is, but pro-tip put it in the oven with olive oil when cooking (trust me).

Organic Brown Rice Pasta: Does eating this make me feel healthy? Big Yes. Is it? Medium Yes. I’m not gluten free or afraid of bread anymore, thank god, but there was a time when I was. This is the pasta I would go with and now that I’m tight with bread again, it’s still my go-to. Mostly just because it’s actually good. Pasta that claims to be good for you is usually trash and basically dissolves in your mouth, no thanks. This one tastes like actual pasta, as it should.

Cauliflower Stir-Fry: Hitting you again with the cauliflower and I’m not done yet. This stuff has the luxury of cauliflower stir fry, without a million individual bags of frozen vegetables to buy. With corn, peppers, peas, ginger and sesame oil in one bag, all you need is soy sauce. Lots and lots of soy sauce,

Orange “Chicken”: I’ve become sort of a vegetarian in recent years. Not necessarily on purpose, but I’m just not a big meat eater anymore. This stuff is vegan and comes with a little sauce packet and it is divine! Put this with Cauli Stir-fry and you’ve got yourself a meal.

Kung Pao Cauliflower: How many cauliflower things can I buy? Many, many cauliflower things. I cook these for about 30 minutes in the oven and pour the sauce packet over them. Longer cook time, but worth the wait.

Dried Apricots, individual packets: I bought these once on a whim and I love them. I need everything to come in tiny serving sizes because I have no self control!! Tastes like candy, but with no added sugar.

Stuff that’s tried, tested, tasty, but not in the regular rotation:

Potato gnocchi stuffed with mozzarella and marinara sauce: These are basically grown-up pizza rolls and I’m not sorry about it. Put some cheese on top and you’ve got yourself an easy meal.

Vegan Pesto: I’m more of a red sauce gall myself, but wanted to try this out anyway. Tastes like normal, almost suspiciously good? If you’re cutting out dairy, this is a god one. If you aren’t, add goat cheese and put it on Cauliflower gnocchi to really lean into #health.

Candy Corn Popcorn: Candy corn, good. Popcorn, good. Candy corn popcorn, so delic. If you don’t like candy corn, let me live! And, alternatively, if you buy the autumn mix candy corn, don’t talk to me either.

 

Let’s Be Real: Should You Only Wash Your Hair Once a Week?

After doing a little research (I googled it), I’ve found some pretty conflicting info about how much you should be washing your hair. Apparently, how much you wash your hair depends on your hair type. If your hair is dry, no more than twice a week. If it’s oily, everyday is fine. If your hair is thick, once a week. If you’re a brunette, no more than twice a week. But what if you have oily, thick, brown hair? Good luck.

The censuses seems to be, less is more. The less you wash, the less you have to style it and the less chance for damage. My hair is naturally very oily or “greasy”, as I fondly, (not fondly), refer to it. Before the beautiful invention of dry shampoo, I used to just put on a headband and wash my hair every other day. Needless to say, I was first-world suffering. Since adding dry shampoo into my life, I’ve been able to wash my hair less and less. I try to go at least 3-ish days and day three was a bun day for sure. Recently, a combo of laziness and honestly just seeing how long I can go, I’ve been going longer and longer between washes. I’ve been doing a wash on Monday and then another towards the end of the week so I can appear to be fresh on the weekends. This past week, I went an entire 7 days without washing it. Here’s my true hollywood story:

Headbands are back and my dirty hair is thriving in the Blair Waldorf of it all. I recently got a bunch of really cute puffy velvet headbands and have been utilizing them to the max. Do they hurt? I’m not gonna lie to you, they give me headaches. So do a lot of other things: people who don’t text back fast enough, when its randomly 40 degrees and you wanted to wear shorts and a light jacket, when the subway doors don’t open for a long pause so you just stand there brimming with anticipation, someone taking a call on speaker in a public place etc. This headache is self-inflicted and I will endure pain for beauty!!

Dry. Sham. Poo. Obviously if this did not exist, I could not not wash my hair. It would drive me nuts. I will say after like day 3, you don’t need as much because it doesn’t, like, evaporate. It sticks around. My favorite is Dove, but it’s all about preference. Gives me the most volume and smells good.

Have good shampoo for when you do actually use it. I’m gonna level with you, my shampoo right now is crappy. It was cheap and I really needed some so I took what I could get. I have a very itchy scalp and dandruff issues, (TMI?) so I really need to switch. Thinking heavily about Function of Beauty again, but tbd.

On that note, probably also get a clarifying shampoo. What the heck is clarifying shampoo, Katie? Well I’ll tell you, dear reader. I discovered it the last time I went to get my hair cut (10 billion years ago) and I told my stylist that my hair looked so gross even though I had washed it that day. Apparently, jus regular ole shampoo doesn’t take all of the stuff out of your hair, so you need to use a clarifying shampoo. Go figure.

If you’re trying this, now is a great time. Hair + cooler weather = gorgeous hair for days. I don’t know what it is about fall/winter weather, probably the fact that you aren’t sweating anymore, but good hair is imminent. On day six of this journey it was about 40 degrees outside and for some reason my hair looked amazing (its also my featured image in the post thank you very much). If you’re even thinking about washing your hair less, this is a fabulous season to start. Also hello hat season!!!

Start slow. Go an extra day every now and then and work up to a full week without washes. Embrace a ponytail, a bun, a cute puffy headband. It’s better for your hair, better for good ole mother earth and saves some money.

 

Let’s Be Real: Are Fabletics Leggings Actually The Best?

Since I mostly live in comfortable clothes now and like the occasional workout class, I needed some new leggings. And by need, I mean just convinced myself I needed them. I’ve been wanting to try Fabletics for a while now, but got spooked by the V.I.P system. Basically, this charges you 50 bucks after the 5th of every month unless you buy something or skip that month. I’ve been burned by forgetting to skip my Hello Fresh before (literally woke up in a cold sweat after sleepily seeing my PayPal charged 60 bucks one morning), but really wanted the discounted leggings. My bank account be damned, I signed up and walked away with the cutest spring leggings.

I have two favorite pairs of leggings. One was bought for maybe $25 at Forever21 and the other was a very spontaneous Lululemon $98 purchase after feeling very good in them in the dressing room mirror. The price is obviously wildly different, but they do have a few things in common. 1. Super mega high-waisted. 2. The perfect length aka no bunching at the bottom and not too short. 3. Thin enough to breathe but thick enough that there isn’t any weird see-through areas. It also helps that they’re both a cute print and mostly black.

I’d say the key to finding good leggings is trying them on. I’ve bought way too many online that were either thicker than I thought or didn’t come up high enough—which it needs to be at least over the belly button no question. Fabletics opened a pop-up down in SoHo so I was able to try a few on. Wouldn’t say there was a huge selection, but decent enough. These are what I tried on and what I ended up getting. 2 for $24, ya can’t beat that.

So the question is, do these measure up to my favorite leggings? Let’s get the not so great out of the way, as usual:

• I think because these leggings are light colored, the sweat marks show. Kinda gross, but crotch sweat is real and I don’t need it seen.
• THICK! The fabric is super thick. I dont hate it (I bought them full-well knowing that), but kinda hate the “front wedgie” that gives me. Am I right ladies?

Okay now for the good stuff:

• Great price. I mean $24 dollars for two is great. After the intro price, it’s $50 if you’re VIP which is still better than Lululemon
• The perfect length. Not too long and not too short.
• Holds your shit in TIGHT. And super high-waisted
• The colors are just so pretty and make me feel cute while sweating my ass off
• Did I say price already cause it’s good

Overall, 10/10 would buy again. Might try a few other styles that may be less thick in the future, but definitely worth the hype! If you’re in the market of new ones, I recommend the mint because the color is wow. Let me know if there’s something else you want me to cover in the comments!

Let’s Be Real: Is ClassPass Worth It?

Starting a new series today, whoop! I was trying to do what I did with the “Sunday Summary” that I used to do, but maybe make it less lame? Trying new things is my favorite thing so this is more of an in-depth at the stuff I like. Enjoy, nerds.

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been a workout person for about 10 years now. I’ve done pretty much everything from pilates, weight training, running, back to pilates, cardio HITT, and back to weight training. A couple of years ago, I started trying workout classes at my college gym. I started with a 7 AM cycling class and pretty soon I was doing any one I could fit into my schedule. Who knew I would like sweating with other people? Luckily for me, that gym was in my tuition and so none of those classes ever cost me an extra dime. Unfortunately, you can’t stay in college and live the good life forever.

Since moving to the city, I didn’t have the luxury of a free gym with free classes. Gym memberships that included classes were a little steep for me, so I stuck to taking about one workout class a month. Your basic first time class at an NYC studio is around 30 bucks a class–sometimes free if you’re lucky. Every place will have some sort of package, but the only way to get an unlimited amount of classes is to pay upwards of $300. That cuts right into my booze and outfit money, so, hard pass. Also you can only take that certain class–cycling, barre, yoga etc.

ClassPass, here to solve all of your problems. It’s a place where you pay a certain amount a month, which gives you a certain amount of “credits” to book any kind of workout class you can dream of in the city. I have the lowest plan where you pay 50 bucks a month to get 27 credits. I usually can book around 2-3 classes a month since most classes are 10 credits. You might be saying, wait only 3 classes a month? That’s nothing. Yes, Deborah, you’re right that’s not a lot, but keep in mind I was spending around $30 on one class. In my research for this I also discovered you can get a Blink all access gym membership (which is the gym I go to) and get 45 credits a month for $94. Which I’m switching to as soon as my membership runs out this month, spoiler alert. I’ve done HITT classes, barre, yoga sculpt, cycling and I’m trying boxing this week!

So let’s be real:  If you love going to workout classes and hate spending a trillion dollars, yes! I wish I would’ve done this sooner

Live From New York It’s the Skin Update

Well hey, its been literally over two months since I posted anything on here… Do I have any explanation? Lack of inspiration? Not really knowing what to talk about? Feeling like  I’ve been just writing things for the sake of writing things? Haven’t been meditating and my mind is all over the place? Yes, yes, yes, and YES.

Honestly, I kept putting it off and then it got to a point where I was like, okay now it’d be lame if I posted that after THIS long. I do really feel I should update you on my skin situation. Let’s start with the bad news?

I don’t use honey as face wash anymore. I’m not sure why, but once winter came, my jawline was breaking out so bad I was getting super self-conscious about it. I tried to ride it out, but at some point I had to go with my skin and try other things. For now, I’ve moved back to good ole soap. I use this in the morning and this at night. My skin still isn’t perfect, but my jawline cleared up almost immediately. Which was a sign I really needed to switch. I’m thinking about going to oil based cleansers in the near future.

My skin responds really well to two things, coconut oil and lemon juice. I’m not sure why, but I’ve been using coconut oil as a moisturizer as well and its been amazing! My skin is normally super oily, but lately its been dry in patches on my t-zone area. All of that to say, I’ll be using both until my–hopefully–timely death, thanks.

The last thing that has been a real game changer for me: Collagen. I would say this is one thing thats transformed my skin and gotten rid of scarring the best. Some people really like it for hair, nail and eyelash growth! I’m pretty blessed in those departments, so the most apparent change has been in my skin. I recently switched to this kind and I just pop it into my coffee every morning!

That’s a wrap! Starting a new series late this week (probably next week) so stay tuned for that!

Love You, But Get Over Yourself

It’s Valentine’s Day! Everyone today is talking about self-love and loving yourself matter if you’re single or dating someone or you married, which is great! Do that! Today I wanted to shake it up and talk about something a little bit different. I talked a little bit about this on my Instagram stories, which if you’re not following me on Instagram you should be, hello. I somehow inspired myself to write this little reminder for you, on this day of love of you and/or someone else.

I had a moment, well more than a moment, more like 6 months in my life where I gained weight when I first moved to New York. I haven’t talked about it at all because, really not in the best place yet to discuss it(but I’m getting there).  It was not the best time considering all the crazy changes happening in my life. I started off with a very low self-esteem as a kid. It’s gotten way better over the years but it’s still not amazing especially when it comes to my body. I had very weird relationship with food and still struggle with it! So when I gained weight for the first time in forever, I panicked. I didn’t know what the heck was going on, I was not happy about it and it only got worse once I started focusing on it.

I spent a lot of time last summer putting on clothes that I had been wearing for years and noticing that they didn’t look the same way or I didn’t feel the same way in them. It got to a point where I wasn’t even sure what size I was anymore and so I stopped buying new clothes because it would bum me out. At the end of the day, I still had to live my life. I wasn’t gonna sit in my room and cry about it even though that’s really what really what I wanted to do. Summer is the most fun, so a lot of the time I just had to put on what I had and try not to think about it.

Nobody noticed or cared except for me and I think that’s one of the things that got me out of the house half the time is nobody is going to notice. Nobody cares about me, nobody looks at myself the way I do or looks at me in the critical way that I do. That has helped me more than anything, so I guess today I’m preaching get over yourself. Nobody cares what you look like half the time, nobody noticed the pimple on your face, nobody noticed that you look a little bloated today. Everyone else is way too busy thinking about how they look, feel and act to also worry about you and your crap!

The people who love you and the people that matter, don’t give a singular crap about the dumb, awful things you think about you. It’s nice to know you’re the only one who cares about every single thought in your head or about what you look like every single day! Obviously love yourself, don’t think that you’re a piece of crap because you gained a little weight or you have a pimple on your face or you did something embarrassing 2 months ago.

Some of the best times I’ve had in my life were when I sucked it up and did whatever it was regardless of how I felt about my outward appearance.

Read and Review: Your February Reading List

I’ve been meaning to do this for ages, since I love reading and sharing which books I loved. However, in earlier months, I’ve just managed a couple of books and who wants one review a month? I need a whole list. So I hunkered down and managed to read 5 this month, which I consider a feat, thank you very much! Especially with Netflix putting out new TV I want to binge once a week (help). Anyway, here’s all the books I read and how I liked them! Enjoy

The Handmaid’s Tale

The Gist: Post apocalyptic world where some women are servants and men control everything. Yeah that’s it

Thoughts and Feels: I read this mostly because it’s a show and instead of paying for Hulu, I decided to read the book. It was a relatively fast read, but only because I kept waiting for it to get good. The premise is really interesting, but left a lot to the imagination. I never understood people’s roles or what really happened to cause this societal shift? It’s one of those books where the end leaves you to come up with your own conclusion, which as a write myself, feels like a cop out.

 Rating: 4/10-Meh

Pieces of Her

The Gist: Andrea moves back to her hometown in Georgia after her mother becomes ill. Her and her mother experience a tragic shooting that leaves Andrea questioning everything she thought she knew about her mother and her own life.

Thoughts and Feels: Twists! Turns! Murder! I’m here for it! I love a good murder mystery and this one was insane. I love a good book that just absolutely consumes my life and I read it every free second I have. It’s one of those really rare books that you don’t guess the end or half of the things that happen, for that matter.

Rating: 10/10-please read

Cop Town

The Gist: Atlanta cops Kate Murphy and Maggie Lawson work to uncover a cop killer, while navigating life as a female police officer in the 1970’s. Let’s just say it’s not easy.

Thoughts and Feels: I LOVED THIS ONE. All about bad ass lady cops in the 70s what more could you want? Also the whole crazy-dont-know-what’s-gonna-happen-murder mystery. Basically going through Karin Slaughter’s entire “discography” (but what’s the book form of that word??) and I’m not mad about it.

Rating: 10/10-please read

All We Ever Wanted

The Gist: At the heart of the lies and scandal, Tom, Nina, and Lyla are forced together—all questioning their closest relationships, asking themselves who they really are, and searching for the courage to live a life of true meaning (stole this from Amazon cause I really didn’t know how to summarize it)

Thoughts and Feels: This was a weird subject to touch on. Very much a “hot button” issue and I’m not really sure how I feel about this book. It did some things really well, but others maybe a little bit problematic. I usually love everything this author writes, but this one was puzzling.

Rating: 6/10 because I still liked the book, just not as much as I normally do

The Unexpected Truth About Animals

The Gist: Touches on a few misconceptions about animals and where those misconceptions came from in our history.

Thoughts and Feels: If you didn’t know this about me, I find animal documentaries super fascinating. I’ve been deciding whether to buy the book for a while and I’m very glad I did. History is crazy, animals are very weird and the writing is funny.

Rating: 8/10 not a murder mystery but still good

 

Adventures in Crazy Workouts: Flywheel

I have a love/hate relationship with cycling classes. Okay, it’s mostly hate. I used to take them all the time at my University gym a couple years ago, ya know, when I was living my best life with a free gym included in my tuition. I thrived on my cycling 7 am classes on Monday’s and have tried to re-create those happy times in these trendy NYC cycling classes. I do love a good Monster cycle class, and I had some high hopes for Flywheel. As you guys know, or maybe don’t, I very much dislike Soulcycle. It’s got flashing colored lights, there’s a lot of yelling, and too many different moves (i.e MOVE UP! DOWN! HANDS AT FIRST! SECOND! RIGHT! LEFT! JUMP!), you get it. I prefer not to be screamed at while I workout, but maybe just me.

I figured I would try this place, simply because the first class was free. I went in, found my assigned bike, and patted myself on the back for being all early. The instructor walked in, talked at a normal volume and I took it as a good sign. As soon as the thought This might actually be okay started forming in my brain, he began to play house music and yelled, “YOU GUYS READY TO GO?!” It was definitely a struggle after that. I checked my apple watch probably every 10 minutes waiting for it to end. Which is sad because the only other time I do that when I work out is when I’m running—because running is just excruciating.

You know how you have ac certain voice when you talk to someone professional? Some people refer to this as their “customer service voice.” Our cycling instructor obviously had a “cycling instructor voice.” He sounded like a gay radio announcer. If you’re wondering “hmm, what does that sound like?” Here’s my best impression:

Okay it was deeper than that, but you get it. Now, I don’t wanna make fun of this dude. However, I can because I know he was putting this voice on. Imagine hearing that mixed with way-too-loud house music.

The one thing that was actually different about this class that I enjoyed was the ranking. We were able to see how we ranked in the class the entire time and even had short bursts of competition with each other towards the end of the ride. Definitely made me push myself to go faster!

Overall, this wasn’t my favorite. I like cycling, but hate when my ear drums burst while have a seizure from flashing lights. This is a workout, not a Kesha concert, thanks.

How To: Eat Yo Vegetables

Raise your hand if you’ve resolved to be healthier in 2019?

I’d consider myself a pretty decently healthy person—who’s addicted to sugar and will not apologize for it. I’ve recently, in the last 6 months, gotten used to eating a serving of vegetables a day. May not sounds like a lot, but you gotta start somewhere, right?

I’ve never been a huge fan of vegetables, because ew. I usually struggle with them unless they’re drowning in some sort of sauce (ranch?). I somehow found a way of making them taste amazing and, almost more importantly, ready very quickly. I’ve never been the kind of person who can sit and wait for food to cook for an hour. I thought I’d share my go-to in case anyone was looking for a quick recipe! I’m by no means a recipe expert and you can totally tell because my pictures are very basic, but you get the idea.

Note: You can use ANY vegetables, I’ve just been really into asparagus and sweet potato lately.

You need:

• Veggie of choice
• Oil of some kind (I used olive oil)
• Half of a lime
• Salt
• Pepper
• Trader Joe’s Everything But The Bagel Seasoning 
• Turmeric

That’s literally it. I know turmeric seems weird, but its so good mixed with all of the other things.

How I do it:

1. Grab a skillet and oil it with a decent amount of whatever oil you chose
2. Put your veggie of choice in there and cook it on medium heat
3. Flip them after about 5 minutes and add spices( I like mine very brown, so maybe flip them earlier if you don’t)
4. Turn heat on low and add juice from the half lime
5. EAT

I added chicken because it goes really well with all the other spices, but you can use whatever you like! I’ve noticed if you don’t have a gas stove, they may take longer to cook, just an fyi. I eat this all the time (ask my roommate) and I love it!